But there is a more diabolic reason to "save" the Paris Conference from the claws of Steve Bannon and Scott Pruitt. Certain coal producers, such as Peabody Energy, are proposing the following strategy to Mr Trump: "The future is in foreign markets. So the last thing you want, if you are a coal company, is to have to leave the negotiating table because of the American position, thus allowing the Europeans to control the agenda."(our translation) In other words, stay in the conference to gut it from the inside, thereby transforming it into a toothless tiger !

Coal, the oldest and dirtiest of fossil energies, is trying to regain its former importance, even if it means driving the final nail in the coffin of climate change. On the other side of the planet, the prime minister of Australia, Mr Malcolm Turnball, is preparing to give the green light to the gigantic Carmichael coal mine in the Galilee basin; in order to kickstart this project, he is ready to hand over one billion Australian dollars in subsidies. This fuel is destined for India; Australian coal or solar energy are the choices of this emerging economy which wants to bring the benefits of electricity to its billion citizens. Not only would this coal produce an estimated 7.7 billions tonnes of GHG during its expected 60 years of operation, it would multiply the risks to the Great Barrier Reef, already threatened by severe episodes of coral bleaching. Clearly, the dinosaur is refusing to die!